Category Archives: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

The second Illuminae Files book was just as fun as Illuminae but less believable and a bit more annoying, but regardless it was a blast. I like these books, they are fun reads that engross me for the entire weekend. Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff tells the story of the Heimdall Station, the station that the survivors of Illuminae are heading towards. On this station, a BeiTech strike team has taken over and it’s only chance of survival are Hanna and Nik, two star-crossed individuals that must save everyone, including the incoming survivors of Illuminae.

Have you ever daydreamed about being a hero when you were in high school? Where you would fight bad guys and win the day? Well, that is pretty much what Gemina is, a book version of kicking bad guy butt and being just overall amazing. This is Die Hard for teenagers. Yes, this book is ridiculous, the bad guys are laughably inept, and Hanna is basically Black Widow from the Avengers, but it is a ton of fun. I thought Nik, the young drug dealing former con, was your typical bad guy, roguish character but I couldn’t help but like him.

The thing about this book, is that it can be really annoying at times. The thing that annoyed me the most is dark grey background with light grey text. How was this even allowed to be a thing? Luckily this wasn’t the majority of the book but there are instances where I legit had to turn on every single light in my room to even read this book. Where Illuminae’s use of experimental formatting made the book much better, Gemina failed to do the same. I never had such a hard time reading a book. The book is also annoying because of something other reviewers brought up, the jokes and innuendos were just too much, especially during scenes that should be super serious. These jokes are just wasting the time of the characters and in turn possibly killing people for doing so.

Ridiculous, over the top, high school daydreaming material, that I couldn’t help but still really enjoy it. I’ll definitely be reading the third book too.

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff is the perfect entry point for young adult readers into science fiction. I think going into this book blind is the best, like I did, but if you want more detail read further on.

Kady and Ezra are having a rough day, not only did they just break up, but their mining colony is getting invaded. Both Kady and Ezra escape the invasion in separate ships but the small fleet of survivors are still being chased by the invaders. Things go from bad to worse when the survivor fleet realizes that the invaders used a chemical weapon that changed normal people into murdering psychopaths. Kady and Ezra have lost so much and realize that their love for each other, becoming a couple again, is the hope they need.

I liked this book because it is a fun science fiction book that is told uniquely. The book is told from a series of documents, recorded footage, and chat messages. This gives the book a very tangible feel of authenticity that heightens the reader’s enjoyment. Kaufman and Kristoff mess with the formatting of pages and even add pages without words, just pictures. This is probably the best alternative style formatting of a book since House of Leaves. It is a quick read but an engrossing read. My only issue is that the sections where someone is taking notes on a video they watched is a bit awkward.

I think the break up, get back together relationship is one that most teenagers will connect to. I enjoyed that they realized how much they meant to each other. I really liked how Kady was the techie hacker in this story. Girls doing science stuff should be in books more often. This is definitely a book that showcases her abilities and Ezra seemed more of a side character. The chat messages between the teenagers can be a little cringey at times but I can see where younger readers would giggle from it.

I absolutely loved the A.I. in this book and the idea of a damaged A.I. is one I always enjoy in science fiction. The virus weapon that is spreading ramps up the danger and tension nicely. Overall, it is just a solid plot that is told at a brisk speed. There is more complexity and nuance with things happening than what can be found on the surface and I think more experienced SF readers will appreciate that. This is just a solid book for new and old science fiction readers both.